Oxford commas, messy paragraphs, and the general frustration of editing.

I am trying to edit a document (azhure, before you worry, this isn't yours! though I need to hurry and get to that) for someone that doesn't use the Oxford comma. I know that to use or not use it is a personal choice, and that each option is valid, and so on, and so forth—

And it still makes me cringe each and every damn time.

It just sounds wrong, you know? It throws off the pacing, it lacks clarity, it looks bad and it's driving me up the wall.

Speaking of personal choices and valid options: Can't we more or less agree that double spacing sentences is obsolete? My bias is showing here because I was never taught to do so, and so I'm not inclined to cling to the practice with the fervor of some, but really: it's dead, isn't it? Fonts these days render the practice obsolete.

Hell, LJ doesn't even render double spacing.

The real problem with this document I'm slaving over, however, is not the writing conventions—it's the writing. There's two paragraphs, two long paragraphs in the middle of this letter, which are such a right mess that just trying to pick them apart turns my thought into a mess as well. Line edits are useless, because too much needs to be redone—but the text begs for line edits so that the author can see why the paragraphs need redone. Providing a general revision plan is a bit easier, but I still rather feel like I'm confronting the Gordian Knot with a dull pen knife.

Hey, look, a solution! A break or three and some angrier, more upbeat music, and suddenly everything is much easier. But the rant still stands.

(no subject)

I have been waiting for the excuse to do this, man I cannot even tell you, because I love my wallpaper just that much.

Stolen from faeriesfolly, a wallpaper meme:

1. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their LJ.
2. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
3. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!

Needs! More! Exclamation points!


Yes, they are just dots. But they are dots which bring me unimaginable joy. I saw them on a random Pixiv artist's background and fell in love with them on the spot (hah, no pun intended). They are adorable, colorful without being bright, autumn-appropriate without being autumn-themed, and I love the texture overlay. For a long time I was using stripes on both my LJ layout and my desktop, stripes which I built myself, just rows of pixels with no texture; this change is refreshing and has much more personality.

Generally I never even see my desktop, because what's the point of a screen if you don't have windows open? But now I minimize everything just to peer at the dots.

I'm special, I know.

Feeling a strange desire for some dots of your own? Grab some fullsized dots ( behind the cut. )